M90 motorway

The M90 is Scotland’s only motorway to reach as far north as Perth. It starts at the Queensferry Crossing south of Edinburgh and ends in the city of Perth. The motorway is the northernmost in the United Kingdom and carries traffic from the central belt to the Highlands. Near Perth it splits into two branches, one towards Dundee and Aberdeen, the other towards Inverness. A short section near Perth was once numbered M85 before it became part of the A90. The route has several notable engineering features. The Queensferry Crossing opened in 2017 as a dual two-lane cable-stayed bridge with a 70 mph limit. The older Friarton Bridge carries eastbound traffic over the River Tay on tall concrete pillars. The motorway follows the route of a former railway line closed in 1970 despite the Beeching report recommending otherwise. Between Fruix and Arlary the M90 was Scotland’s first motorway built with unreinforced concrete pavements. Drivers encounter a tight curve near the Ochil Hills with a radius of 694.5 m and gradients up to 5.65 %. North-bound heavy goods vehicles must use low gear on the steep climb. Emergency lay-bys appear every 400 m where there are no hard shoulders. The interchange at Broxden removes nearly 900 000 cubic metres of rock to create a three-way split. The motorway also forms part of the Euroroute E15 from Inverness to Algeciras, though this is not shown on UK signs.